Tobacco giant Philip Morris is getting around the ban on flavoured tobacco and vape products in the Netherlands by introducing a new cigarette replacement made from cellulose, the AD reported on Tuesday.

The product, named Levia, is sold in packs of 20 and the nicotine-containing sticks are based on cellulose rather than tobacco, so don’t fall under the ban. The sticks, which retail online for at €6.60 per pack are sold in two flavours – island beat, which is menthol, and berry-flavoured electro-rouge.

Menthol cigarettes have been banned in the Netherlands since May 2020 and flavoured vape products since the beginning of this year.

Users insert the sticks – which look like white, traditional cigarettes – into a vape-like holder which heats the product to release the chemicals rather than burns it.

Campaign group Rookvrije Generatie says Levia is nothing more than a trick to keep on selling smoking products with flavour. “They might not contain tobacco but they are packed with addictive nicotine,” spokesman Dave Krajenbrink told the paper.

In addition, as well as providing a potential “leg up” to smoking tobacco, nothing is known about the long-term health impact of the product, he said.

The Dutch product safety board NVWA told the paper it cannot act against Levia because it is considered a herb product not covered by the anti-tobacco legislation. However, change may be on the way because of an amendment to the law which will also regulate nicotine products without tobacco, the agency said.

Philip Morris refused to answer the AD’s questions.

However, chief executive Officer Jacek Olczak said during a presentation to investors last year that the product may avoid the heavy taxes and controls imposed on its other products.

Levia “may not be subject to flavour regulations in some jurisdictions” and “doesn’t fit” in existing fiscal categories, Olczak is quoted as saying by Reuters.

Teenagers

According to Dutch addiction institute Trimbos, most Dutch youngsters who vape also smoke, debunking the theory that one discourages the other.

In 2023 10% of 12 to 14-year-olds had smoked an e-cigarette, rising to almost a quarter in the 15 to 17 age group, Trimbos figures show. The under-18s are not supposed to be able to buy vaping equipment and liquids.

Almost a third of 12 to 25-year-olds smoke and almost seven in 10 youngsters who vape also light up cigarettes, the Trimbos survey found.